§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people aged between(a) 16 to 64, (b) 65 to 74, (c) 75 to 84 and (d) over 85 years were in residential care homes in the most recent year for which figures are available; and in each of those age groups how many were funded by (i) local authorities on a means tested basis, (ii) the individuals themselves and (iii) the Department of Social Security. [76491]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 15 March 1999]: Information on the numbers of people in residential care at 31 March 1996, the latest year for which complete information on residents is available, together with figures for local authority supported residents at 31 March 1996 and 1998 and on people in residential care who are funded by income support at February 1996 and August 1998, is given in the table. Information on the number of individuals who found themselves is not available centrally.
column 373, on restraint techniques, what responsibility (a) the Mental Health Commissioner has and (b) other official bodies have to collect information on deaths that occur in mental health institutions. [77690]
3W
§ Mr. HuttonThe Mental Health Act 1983 does not place a specific duty on the Mental Health Act Commission to collect information on deaths that occur in mental health institutions. However, since February 1997, with Ministerial agreement, the Commission has gathered data on the deaths of detained patients and reviewed those from non-natural causes. The Commission has now completed the second year of data collection and is in the process of drawing general conclusions from the information available which it intends to present in the form of a report, drawing attention to general issues identified and making recommendations for action. It is intended to publish the report this year and to circulate it widely to mental health services in England and Wales.
The Office for National Statistics collects information on all deaths that occur in England and Wales through the death registration system. This information included "place of death" which may give details of a communal establishment, such as a mental health institution, if that is where the death occurred.
§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what systems his Department require to be in place in mental health institutions to deal with medical emergencies resulting from the use of(a) control and restraint techniques and (b) drugs. [77629]
§ Mr. HuttonIt is for each trust to ensure that appropriate staffing level and policies for responding to emergencies are in place.